Supporter Kate Boddy shares how her last Christmas with her dad – a deaf British Sign Language (BSL) user – was stolen by barriers that should never have been there.
I want to tell you my dad’s story. It’s one of struggle, silence and being brutally shut out of the healthcare he desperately needed. It’s a story no family should have to live through.
When cancer came
My dad loved this time of year. He wore terrible Christmas jumpers with pride and insisted on eating all the Christmas pudding. He was our anchor and our joy.
But when cancer came into his life, and into ours, him being shut out as a deaf British Sign Language (BSL) user changed everything.
My dad was terrified, but when his results came back, doctors didn’t arrange for an interpreter.
Instead, they turned to me – heavily pregnant at the time – and asked me to tell him he had cancer.
Can you imagine that moment? Having to put your emotions aside and say those words to your own father. Can you imagine your child being put in that position?
A daughter forced to translate
From that moment I was no longer just his daughter. At appointments, during treatment, even while breastfeeding my newborn, I was interpreting life-and-death information.
Multiple healthcare providers failed to provide my dad with professional communication support and as a result, his diagnosis and treatment were delayed.
He disengaged with his care and withdrew from the world. He even withdrew from me.
It was traumatising. For him. For me. For our whole family.
What we lost
When the end came in 2023, I felt like I had already lost so much of him. Cancer took his life. But the failure to provide access to healthcare that treated him with the dignity he deserved stole our precious time together.
I never got to have a proper goodbye.
No one should be shut out of healthcare
Kate’s story has featured in two RNID fundraising campaigns, including our 2025 Christmas Appeal.